Willingness to pay for COVID-19 test and vaccine in South Africa and Ghana: A contingent valuation study

Although from a public health perspective, governments are expected to finance the cost of testing and vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic, most African countries do not have the resources to do these. Individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for COVID-19 testing and vaccination is thus crucial. We employ the Contingent Valuation Method to assess WTP for COVID-19 testing and vaccine and also investigate factors associated with WTP in South Africa and Ghana. On average, respondents in South Africa are willing to pay US$16.29 for COVID-19 testing, whereas those in Ghana are willing to pay US$9.69. In terms of the COVID-19 vaccine, South Africans are willing to pay twice (US$41.83) as high as the amount Ghanaians are willing to pay (US$20.36). The results from the probit and tobit estimations on factors associated with WTP show that WTP for COVID-19 testing and vaccine are correlated with income, education, employment, gender, having tested for COVID-19, travel experience, and low satisfaction with the government's COVID-19 measures. These findings suggest that the private sector can play a crucial role in COVID-19 testing and the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines because people are willing to pay. However, there may be a need for subsidisation for the poor.